When friends become family: people in Hong Kong, unable to visit relatives in other countries, find the bonds of friendship grow stronger

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Vivien Xiang (right) has found a second family in close friends during the pandemic. She’s not the only one. Photo: Vivien Xiang

Published: 7:15am, 10 Mar 2022Updated: 7:40am, 10 Mar 2022

Vivien Xiang lived in Hong Kong five years before she really got to know her friends well. The Hubei native moved to the city in 2016 to study for a master’s degree and stayed on to work after graduating, which is when she met her German husband.

In February 2020, she went to Hubei to celebrate the purchase of a flat – a housewarming party that went on a lot longer than expected for her parents.

“Covid-19 [was first identified] in Hubei, it was super stressful. I had to make a choice, stay in lockdown – at that time we didn’t know what was going on – or be evacuated to Germany,” says Xiang.

She chose evacuation, eventually making her way back home to Hong Kong, and her parents spent one-and-a-half months in lockdown in her Hubei flat. That was two years ago, and she hasn’t seen them since.

People from around the world, who have made Hong Kong their home and have family overseas, have spent a lot more time with their friends during the last two years. Photo: Shutterstock

“I’m really very keen to go back [to Hubei]. My parents are understanding, especially after my evacuation experience. I will visit them when things become easier,” says Xiang.